The present disclosure generally relates to a system and method for communicating information from a plurality of devices in a home to a remote location. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a method and system that can communicate utility-related information from a home to a remote site, such as a utility, through either a home gateway located within a home or a utility gateway positioned remotely from the home.
Presently, various different systems exist for a utility to receive consumption information from a plurality of meters distributed throughout a remote area. Many of these systems incorporate a gateway positioned within a neighborhood or a defined area that communicates using an RF local area network (LAN) to a plurality of meters distributed within an area surrounding the gateway. Typically, the gateway includes some type of communication device that allows the gateway to communicate over a wide area network (WAN) with a utility provider. This wide area network can be various systems, such as a public telephone system, the internet, or one of various other types of communication platforms.
In currently available advanced meter infrastructure (AMI) systems, the utility gateway is positioned on a tower or pole such that the gateway has a clear communication path for RF signals to reach the various meters distributed in the area. Although these types of AMI systems currently work effectively to receive utility consumption information from meters located within customer homes, the utility gateways must be mounted on towers or poles, which requires capital infrastructure expenditures by the utility. Further, the utility poles and towers must be distributed in desired locations to provide communication to a large number of meters. In rural areas, AMI systems are often not cost effective due to the low density of the meters in such locations.
Current developments in radio frequency communications have led to the inclusion of radio frequency communication devices in various home appliances, such as refrigerators, thermostats and other large appliances. These radio frequency communication devices allow the devices to communicate either with each other or with a monitoring device located within the home. The monitoring device allows a user to monitor energy consumption, operating characteristics, or other important information regarding the operation of the RF equipped devices. However, since the RF equipped devices may be provided by different manufacturers, the RF equipped devices located within a home often communicate utilizing various different types of RF protocols. These RF protocols may include GSM, Zigbee, Bluetooth, as well as other proprietary RF protocols or protocols yet to be developed. Thus, it is often difficult for devices to communicate with each other, or with a central location, utilizing the various different RF protocols available.